Social Media Column: TEDxEdmonton – The Future Of…

Published in the June 4, 2013 issue of The Edmonton Sun.

Linda’s social media column can be found every Tuesday in the Edmonton Sun.

TEDxEdmonton – The Future Of…

What is The Future Of Food? Health? Sports?

The annual TEDxEdmonton ideas conference returns next weekend and this year’s theme is The Future Of… with just over a dozen local speakers — experts in their fields — addressing the state of their industry and what’s to come.

June 15 marks the fourth TEDxEdmonton event to be held in our city.

TED is a non-profit organization dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.”

Standing for Technology, Entertainment and Design, it first began in California nearly 30 years ago and has since grown to independently organized talks around the globe, including TEDxEdmonton.

“TEDx is that platform that connects people to the latest and greatest ideas out there and provides that window into seeing what the future might hold,” said TEDxEdmonton producer Dan Jacob.

While it’s not a specific topic being presented at this year’s event, I imagine ‘The Future of Social Media’ is one on the minds of many.

Social media has impacted and continues to impact all industries. The web and online tools has been a part of revolutions, saved lives and has made the world a much, much smaller place.

“The power of social media, the power of technology has really been the catalyst that’s really allowed TED to flourish and to increase exponentially in the last few years,” Jacob said.

TED began making waves globally after videos of talks were posted on YouTube.

“It was that move that basically created this global movement of TED enthusiasts around the world,” Jacob said.

“You have a brand in TEDx that connects to a global audience and so the talks once they’re recorded, go up online and anyone in the world can really connect to them.”

The events are live-tweeted and various social networking platforms allow the TED mandate of ideas worth spreading to be taken to the next level.

“It’s that tool that allows people to disseminate really worthwhile ideas and share them with their networks,” Jacob said.

This year, along with posting videos of talks after the event, organizers have also been pushing out short vignettes featuring The Future Of speakers, showing just a taste of what’s to come next Saturday.

So what is the future of social media?

While it may not be discussed as a stand-alone issue at TEDxEdmonton, I’ve no doubt its impact will be mentioned in some way in nearly all topics.

How will we prevent disease? How do we keep food sustainable? What is the state of our education and where is it headed?

I’m just as curious as you are.

Buy tickets to TEDxEdmonton by heading to www.tedxedmonton.com.

You can also follow @TEDxEdmonton and #tedxedmonton to explore more on what the future holds.

Some Tweets of the Week

@MattChunks: It’s amazing what a friendly community we have. Bus rides are a lot more fun with a simple “hello” to the people around you. #yeg

@alisonborealis: I love old photos of prairie people. They’re always posing with their pride-crops: too-tall corn, glorious flowers… It’s awesome. #ag #yeg

@Cokebear17: Just saw a DeLorean go the other way on the Henday. Thank you for making my day. :D #yeg

@JudiBahl: 4 months in #yeg #stalbert. Still getting use to my new surroundings and hopefully, new friends keep coming! #lefthome #misswinnipeg

@eatyurmakeup: I told husband that we’re Northerners and we’d embarrass our families if we let the weather prevent us from BBQing. #itspouring #yeg

Click here to read the column on the Edmonton Sun website!

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